Living In The Dark
by Rikki18
Summary: I lived a normal life once. I had a home, a mom, four dogs. I was happy. But, deep down, I knew something was missing. I just never thought I'd find it here. I also never thought I'd be running from evil organizations, searching for missing heroes, and keeping secrets in order to keep the people around me alive. Whomever sent me here should be killed with a teacup.
1. She May Not Believe You

**Author's Note:**

So, I went to see Ant-man last night (don't worry I won't spoil anything) and it was freaking amazing! I expected it to be stupid, but I had a blast. There's a certain scene with a flying avenger that just made that movie epic (and hilarious). I was inspired by that movie to finally write this story. I have no idea how long it's going to be or if there will be sequel. I'm kind of just writing and not planning that far ahead. If you've read any of my other stories, you'll notice that I have a habit of starting them, and then not finishing more than three chapters. But, this story running through my head is so good that I don't see myself walking away from it.

So, let's hope inspiration keeps on smacking me in the face. XD

Full Summary: I lived a normal life once. I had a home, a mom, four dogs. I was happy. But, deep down, I knew something was missing. I just never thought I'd find it here. I also never thought I'd be running from evil organizations, searching for missing heroes, and keeping secrets in order to keep the people around me alive. Whomever sent me here should be killed with a teacup.

 **Disclaimer: I do not and have never owned Marvel or any of it's characters. The fact that I'm writing a story on this site kind of proves that. The only thing I own is my OC and the plot.**

 **Prologue**

When I was growing up, there were only a few things I was afraid of. They were pretty common fears; heights, spiders, needles. Those types of fears. It wasn't until now that I realized those fears are nothing compared to what is really out there.

Aliens, monsters, super villains, secret evil government organizations, you name it.

I had always believed that they weren't real.

They couldn't be real. The only people that believed in them were crazy people, conspiracy theorists, and comic book fans. All of those things should have been fake. Just made up stories and theories. And they were...until I woke up. 

**Chapter 1**

Falling asleep has always been a problem for me. I've never been able to just rest my head on a pillow and fall asleep in seconds. I can't even take a nap (I blame my mother for that one). As everyone else falls asleep some time before midnight, I'm wide awake. And let me tell you, waking up at o' dark thirty in the morning, going to school at 7am, and running into those perky morning people does nothing except piss me off. I was so glad when I got to go to MIT early. At least there, the morning people were intelligent enough to leave me alone until noon.

Graduating from MIT at fifteen was supposed to be exciting. I had planned to sell some of the prototypes I had created while at MIT and maybe work in a research lab up in New York, but something happened. No, I did not receive some magical powers, super strength, or the ability to fly. I'm not that interesting.

My mother disappeared.

I never even realized she was gone until my graduation. I got a phone call the day before from her saying how proud she was of me and that she would fly up in the morning. That was the last time I ever heard her voice. My graduation started and I couldn't see her in the crowd. I gave my valedictorian speech and I still couldn't spot her. By the time everyone had received their diplomas, I was freaking out. She had promised to be there. I didn't know where the hell she was, but she was going to get one hell of an angry phone call.

i can't even tell you how many times I tried to call her and only got her voicemail. Luckily, I had enough money to fly back home to Florida and see if she was home. Besides my mother missing, there was only one other problem.

My home wasn't my home.

When I pulled up in front of my house, there was a car parked in the driveway that I didn't recognize. Not to mention the kids toys on the front lawn with two small kids running around. From what I could see from my rental car, the entire inside of my house was different. Gone were the yellow kitchen walls and pictures of me and my mom. They were replaced with light blue walls and pictures of the kids playing in the yard. I just couldn't figure out what was going on.

I quickly left before one of the neighbors called the cops about a suspicious car and drove over to the nearest Starbucks (you gotta love the free Wifi). I quickly accessed my mother's credit info to see if she had used it recently (I probably should have done that before) and it claimed that I had the wrong username/password. That didn't make any sense considering her user/pass info had been the same for four years. This left me with no choice. I had to hack my way into her personal info.

It took all of half a minute to hack the DMV, FBI, and CIA from my laptop and all of them said the exact same thing:

NOT FOUND

I'm still not even sure how that's possible when she's had a driver's license and credit cards since before I was born. For a few minutes, I didn't know what to do. I had tried to call her and that got me nowhere. I tried looking up her recent activity and that got me to a metaphorical desert in the middle of nowhere. The only thing I knew to do was to find somewhere to live temporarily. I had some money saved up from skipping meals while working on my prototypes at MIT, so I used that to rent a cheap motel room.

I spent three days there before I realized I wouldn't be able to find her on my own. Before you ask why I didn't try and call the police, I knew it would be a waste of time. Not only would they not even know who they're looking for, but they would have no leads and would never be able to find her. Not to mention they would send me to an orphanage (or a group home at the very least) since I wasn't eighteen. There was no way in hell that I was going through that.

Luckily, I had some friends in low places that I acquired while at MIT. You'd be amazed how many people there are shady. I had made friends with the less sketchy ones that would have my back no matter what. I thought I would only need there help for a few months at the most. Four years later, and I still hadn't found her. The best lead I ever found was a video of someone that looked enough like my mother for me to leave my friend's house and drive all the way to Brooklyn in order to find her.

The video was a simple street camera. It caught a woman who looked like my mother speeding through a red light in Brooklyn. Just seeing her face wasn't the reason why I drove from Boston to Brooklyn. It was the two SUV's that ran through the red light seconds after her that made me speed the whole way there. I had arrived there a few hours later and drove like a bat out of hell to the intersection she sped through. There weren't any clues as to where she could've gone, and that didn't really surprise me, but the sirens and flashing lights three blocks down did.

I don't even remember parking my car. All I remember is running down to the police cars and seeing a flipped over car on fire. There were a bunch of people watching the firefighters put out the flames. I noticed two men who looked like they were from the FBI standing off to the side. You know, those guys that where the black suits and just scream 'I have no personality and I hope you don't notice me staring at you like a creeper from a distance'. They were watching before they saw me and started to walk away. This was the closest I had come in four years to finding my mother. If my mother really was in that car, then I was not going to let her possible murderers just walk away.

I ran after them, pushing random bystanders out of my way. I caught a quick glimpse of them walking into an alley way. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't chase MIB's down a street alley. I think I've learned that lesson since the last thing I remember is a bright blue light.

"So, Agent Hill. Before I continue with the rest of my story, are you going to be like the three other agents that tried to interrogate me or are you actually going to believe the rest of what I have to say?"

"She may not believe you, but I do." 

**End of Chapter One.**

 **AN: Please Review! I love reading them and they help me write more often.**


	2. Are You Joking Right Now

**Author's Note:**

So, I decided to keep on writing tonight and just see how far I could go. Obviously, I wrote another chapter. I'll probably start the next one tomorrow since it's almost 3am. This chapter gives a more in depth look into what's been going on with my character compared to the first chapter. I hope you guys like it. I know the story is moving a little slow right now, but after Chapter Three, it'll start to pick up speed. Think of this like the first X-men movie. It was kind of slow in the beginning, but then Wolverine flies through a car window and gets hit with a tree. That's not going to happen in this story, but you get the point. XD

Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. If I did, I'd cast myself as Clint Barton's girlfriend. XD**

 **I only own my OC.**

 **Chapter Two**

I can't exactly tell you how long I've been in a Shield interrogation room. I can't even tell you exactly where the room is, but I've seen enough episodes of Agents of Shield to know that I'm definitely in one. How do I know that you may ask? Well, let's start with me waking up in a Shield jail cell. I know it's run by Shield since I had two guards wearing the usual black ops-esque Shield gear while holding guns. I couldn't tell you what kind of guns they are. I'm not into guns, but I'm pretty sure that a small flag with a 'Bang' written on it isn't going to pop out when they pull the trigger.

During my stay in the cell, I had a few issues that I had to get over. I think Shield wanted me to freak out so that I'd tell them whatever they wanted to know. What they didn't know was that, in my head, I was questioning my sanity. The first day after I woke up, I tried asking the guards where I was, is this real, what had I done. The usual questions someone in my situation would ask. After I got no response from them besides threatening glares, I realized that it was real, I was in deep, and I had no idea how this happened. I then started seriously questioning my sanity for a while. Who wouldn't? It took me a day or two (it's hard to tell with no windows) before I just accepted that I was trapped here and that I'd have to wait until someone talked to me.

I know I was there for at least four days before some random Shield agent with a buzz cut (no surprise there) walked down the hall and stopped at my cell. As he roughly dragged me out of my cell, I tried asking him why I was even here and why no one would tell me anything. Yeah, you guessed it, he didn't answer me either. I didn't have a lot of time to ask him anymore questions before I was brought to a bare room that only contained a table with two chairs on either side. He forced me to sit down in the chair closest to the door and left. I was left alone.

I looked around the room and realized it was an interrogation room when I saw the two way mirror to my left. While looking in the mirror, I realized that I looked alright considering my situation. My brown almost black hair was still curly and long; reaching my lower back. My face, albeit a little thinner and slightly paler, was still pretty much the same. Even my eyes were the same brown color they always are, but something about me seemed different. It wasn't the strange black almost jail like uniform they had me in. I don't know. I just can't explain it. While I was staring at my reflection, an agent walked through the door behind me.

He barely even glanced at me before sitting down and asking me the basic questions; what is your name, how old are you, where do you live, where did you go to school, are you an alien? Yes, you heard me. He asked me if I was an alien. You could've knocked me over with one of those little hand fans they sell at amusement parks. I wasn't stupid enough to answer any of his questions. So, by the time he got to the 'are you an alien' question, his patience was already wearing thin. You'd think someone that does any sort of interrogating could handle interrogating a moody nineteen year old.

I gave him my 'you have got to be kidding me' look that every teenager masters and told him in no uncertain terms to piss off. I could tell that it really pissed him off considering he just glared at me, got up from his seat, and left the room. I'm not even going to bother describing his appearance since I couldn't care less. I also couldn't care less about the two other agents that tried to interrogate me. The next one had acted a lot like the guy before except he had a bit of an attitude. After a shouting match, he stormed out a lot like the first guy. It wasn't until I saw the third interrogator that I took pity on him and told him that I am not from here, but possibly from a different dimension where none of this is real. He looked at me like I was a crazy person and also stormed out of the room. I wonder if I beat a record?

It was soon after the last guy stormed out that someone I recognized very well walked in. She was dressed in her usual Shield attire that she wore on the hellicarrier in the Avengers movie. The classic navy blue uniform with black boots and a weapons holster at her side. Her shoulder length brown hair was up in its usual pristine bun and she was wearing a 'you better not be a waste of my time' look on her face. Finally. If there was anyone in Shield that would believe that someone isn't truly from here, it'd be Maria Hill. I was so wrapped up in the fact that she was going to interrogate me, that I didn't even realize she had already sat down and was talking to me.

"Are you even paying attention?" I jumped in my seat and tried to pay more attention. I have ADD, so there's no guarantee I will.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" Based on her face, she was beyond pissed that I wasn't paying attention. She's not the first person...or the last.

"I was saying that you've been in here for days asking why you're here yet you haven't asked any of the interrogators. You also haven't given any information as to who you are. The only thing you've done for the past two hours is piss off all three of them and told the last one that you may be from a different dimension."

"I'm not hearing a question." I'm a smartass. What can I say? Although the glare I got may not have been worth it.

"Do you fully understand the situation you're in right now?"

"How could I when no one will even tell me why I'm here. I asked the guards the first day why I'm here and I also asked Captain buzzcut why and do you know what they said? Absolutely nothing. So forgive me for not asking my interrogators why they have me hear when I know that they'll either ignore me like everyone else or just try and skirt around my question. Why waste my time."

Hill just stared at me for a few seconds after my rant before responding.

"Fine. You want to know why you're here? We had reacquired a dangerous device that nearly destroyed New York City for only a few hours before it started acting up. The item started glowing brighter than before and a beam shot out of it. Once the beam stopped, Shield agents saw a body lying where the beam used to be. Your body to be exact. Mind explaining how you just so happened to appear from a beam of light?"

"I...wait...what!?" How in the hell is that even possible? That never happened in the movies.

"Are you trying to tell me that I came out of the tesseract just like Loki did?" Even with all her Shield training, I knew Agent Hill was shocked that I not only knew what the tesseract was, but also who Loki is and how he arrived on Earth.

"And how exactly do you even know about Loki or the tesseract?" I'm pretty sure I need to be careful how I phrase what I'm going to say next.

"If I tell you I saw it in a movie, would you believe me?" I asked with a sheepish look on my face. Based on her face, obviously not.

"Are you joking right now?"

"Of course I'm not! I wasn't kidding when I told that last guy that I may be from a different dimension. I wasn't sure if that had happened, but after you told me that I came out of the tesseract, I can't see how anything else would explain how I got here. This didn't even happen in the movie. I wonder if there's some way for me to use the tesseract to get home. Although, I'd have to see the actual diagnostics for the tesseract and then figure out how to use it in order to get home. Maybe if I could talk to Dr. Selvig he coul..."

"Let me stop you right there. You can't have access to the tesseract because we don't have it anym.."

"Wait, what?! I thought you said I came out of the tesseract? How long has it been since then?" She gave me a sympathetic look before dropping another bomb.

"Two months and five days." What the...

"You mean to tell me that I got transported by the tesseract to this world and have been unconscious for two months! Why in the hell didn't the first guy tell me that instead of asking if I was an alien!? Well, now that question makes sense. Am I an alien? Does coming from a different dimension make someone an alien because I don't think this has ever happened before in this world. Thor technically doesn't count considering he.."

"Look, you can question all of that later in your cell. What I need to know is who you are and how you got here. Mind answering those questions?"

"Why not. You're probably the most likely person to believe me right now." I sighed and stared directly into Hill's eyes as I started explaining.

"My name is Rikki Corvine and..."

So, I told her my story. From how my mother disappeared, how I thought I'd found her being pursued by two SUV's, the car accident (that so wasn't an accident), the strange MIB's, and the blue light that I then realized was somehow the tesseract. She had the same look on her face from start to finish.

"So, Agent Hill. Before I continue with the rest of my story, are you going to be like the three other agents that tried to interrogate me or are you actually going to believe the rest of what I have to say?"

"She may not believe you, but I do."

I didn't even hear the door open, but it must have considering Nick Fury was standing in front of the closed door in his full 'Director' mode. His black trench coat billowed behind him as he walked past me and stood behind Agent Hill.

"Mind explaining to me this whole 'movie' you were talking about earlier?"

I didn't even hesitate in telling him about all of the movies leading up to the Avengers. I purposely told him stuff from the movies that only the people involved would know. Like how Yensel met Tony Stark in Switzerland the first time, Bruce swallowed a USB device to hide it from General Ross, Coulson threatened to taze Tony and watch Super Nanny as he drooled into the carpet, Jane Foster hit Thor with her car twice while Darcy tazed him because he freaked her out, what Dr. Erksine told Steve the night before his procedure, etc. I'm sure Fury didn't believe me at first, but by the time I started explaining the beginning of the Avengers movie, I think I almost made him a believer. I've never been so happy to be borderline obsessed with Marvel to the point where I watched all the movies so many times that I practically memorized them.

Fury didn't say anything to me after I finished for a few seconds. He just kind of stared me down. I think he might've been trying to see if I was lying. I'm a pretty good liar, but I'm not that good.

"Hill, take her back to her cell." What the hell?

I started to protest, but both Hill and Fury were hearing none of it. I was quickly brought back to my cell and I was left alone once again. I don't know if I made a mistake telling them everything I knew (well, at least everything I knew leading up to the Avengers movie), but there is nothing I can do about it now. I sat in my old cell for what seemed like hours before I noticed that the two guards that were guarding the hallway had disappeared. I know that's not a good sign. I've seen enough movies in my life to know that much. I was about to start looking for anything to defend myself with when the door leading out of the hallway opened. The last person I ever thought to see started walking down the hall and stopped right in front of my cell.

"Good morning Miss Corvine. I think we need to talk."

 **End of Chapter Two**

 **AN: Please Review! ^_^**


	3. Author's Note

**Attention all readers of my story!**

 **My classes have finally ended this semester and I wanted to look back on some of the stories I had written before the semester started. I started rereading this story and fell back in love with it. In the first chapter, I had said that I didn't really have a plan for this story and I'd see where it goes. That is no longer true. I have finally mapped out where I want my story to go (at least through the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and I'm really excited about it.**

 **Since you guys have been patiently waiting, I have decided to let you guys in on a few things that will be happening in this story. I won't give away anything too important, but I figure you guys have earned it.**

 **Here are a few things that will happen in this story:**

 **1) Rikki will meet Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff**

 **2) This story will mainly focus on the events that happen in Agents of Shield with Rikki becoming a part of some of the Marvel movies as well**

 **3) One of the Marvel movies that Rikki will definitely be a part of is Captain America: The Winter Soldier**

 **4) Rikki learns the truth about what happened to her mother**

 **I hope this makes up (at least a little bit) for the extremely long delay. I had planned on posting another chapter tonight, but I spent so much time writing up the basic outline (which isn't so basic now that I see it) that I'm too tired to start writing it. I will definitely begin writing it in the morning though. I have no idea when I'll post it (you guys know that I like to write long-ish chapters), but it will be up tomorrow. I'm so happy that I fell back in love with this story, and now that I know where it's going, I should be writing new chapters like crazy.**

 **I just want to give a quick shout out to the three reviewers that I have for this story (Brzczyszczykiew, Rubi Yuki, and Guest). Thank you so much for reviewing! It really helped motivate me to continue to write. And to Rubi Yuki: I know, right! While I wouldn't mind being the badass daughter he never knew about, I'd rather be his girlfriend. XD**

 **Thanks for reading my long Author's Note! I didn't mean for it to be this long, but I'm just super excited to start writing this story again. I'll post the new chapter tomorrow!**

 **~Rikki18**


	4. It's Not Going To Blow Up

**A.N.: So, as promised, here is the next chapter. It took me a little longer to write since this is a longer chapter hence the almost midnight posting. There's going to be a little time jumping in this chapter, but it sets up what's going to happen in the next chapter. Also, I have absolutely no knowledge of guns. All I really know is that you point and shoot, so if something isn't right, please let me know and I'll fix it.**

 **On a side note, the doc manager kind of messed up my spacing. Sorry about that. I'll try and fix it later.**

 **So, after months of waiting, you guys will finally know who appeared outside Rikki's cell.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Like I love to say, I don't own Jack, but I do own Rikki. XD**

 **Chapter Three**

Oh. My. God.

Of all the people I expected to be standing outside my cell, I never thought it would be him. There isn't a Marvel fan alive that wouldn't recognize the man with the receding hair line that was dressed in a nice suit.

"Agent Coulson. Nice to meet you."

If he was surprised by the fact that I knew exactly who he was, he didn't show it. Or Agent Hill warned him about me beforehand. If there's one thing I'd learned after watching all those episodes of AOS, it was that all the agents had the best poker faces. Note to self, never play poker with any Shield agents. Another note to self, learn how to play poker.

"I'd like to talk to you about working with me and my team." Wait...what?

"Are you serious? I'm possibly from a different dimension, you barely know anything about me, and I've been locked up in a Shield cell for the last two months and you want me working with you?"

"You have information that Shield believes could be useful. You seem to know more about the events leading up to the Avengers Initiative than most level 7 agents. Fury and I agreed that it would be better for everyone if you worked with me and my team. You might be able to explain some of the unexplainable events that have been occurring lately."

"Like a wormhole appearing over New York City and a hammer falling from the sky?"

"Exactly."

"So, when you say both Fury and you agreed..."

"He mainly went along with the idea..."

"But he gave the look of 'If this ends in disaster, it's on you'."

"Exactly."

"Well that's comforting." NOT. "I really don't have much of a choice, do I? I can either sit in a Shield cell for the rest of my life or I help you."

"Pretty much." Way to make me feel better Coulson.

I sighed and thought about my situation (even though there really wasn't anything to think about). I mean really, what would you do? Sit in a cell and rot or help Coulson and his team? Maybe I can even try and change some of the things that happened.

"So, what exactly would I have to do?"

Phil grinned.

 **~The Next Day~**

I never thought I would be so happy to wear regular clothes again. That stupid black jumpsuit (prison garb I'd call it) was so boring. After my little chat with Coulson, I was let out of my cell and brought to the upper floors of the helicarrier (I didn't even realize that I was on it). Coulson led me to a room that I guess was for other agents and I was told that dinner would be brought to me and that he would discuss things in more detail tomorrow. After I was locked in my new room, I looked around.  
There was a simple twin size bed (no complaints there I usually sleep on one that size anyway), a small bedside table (don't really care), and a small window that couldn't open. Considering I had four walls and one of them wasn't made of bars, I really didn't have anything to complain about. I noticed that there were two doors (one to the left and one to the right). I opened the one to the right and saw that there were a couple sets of Shield issued black pants and shirts as well as a couple sets of black colored workout clothes. Does Shield have something against colors? Oh well. Beggars can't be choosers.

When I closed the closet door and opened the door on the left, I swear I could almost hear angels singing in the background. You know that "Aaah" moment where a bright light shines on something and you can hear people singing? Yeah, this is definitely what I thought should've been playing in the background when I opened the door. Inside was a bathroom. Yes, that's right. A bathroom. It was just like any regular bathroom (toilet, shower, sink), but it was like finding the Holy Grail. You spend two months in a cell and then tell me how happy you'd be to see one.

I quickly stripped and showered. It felt like heaven. After I got out, I changed into the workout clothes (since shield doesn't realize that people need something to sleep in) and I passed out. That's how I woke to Coulson knocking on my door.

"Corvine. Get up. You have combat training in 10 minutes."

My sleep addled brain had no idea what was going on. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was on the helicarrier, Coulson was the one that woke me up, and I'm having combat training with Coulson in ten minutes. Good God, what time is it?

"Mrhrmpgh..." was my MIT educated response as I slowly crawled (yes I mean crawled) out of bed and to my closet. I grabbed a new set of workout clothes (yeah, you guessed it, in black), grabbed a pair of shoes, and got ready in record time. I opened the door to see Coulson in his usual suit leaning against the door jamb obviously waiting for me.

"You're late." Really Phil?

"You try telling how long ten minutes is without a clock. Oh, wait. That's part of the Shield training, isn't it." I said as a joke.

"Actually it is." What?

"But, you won't be learning that right now. Shield has a strict policy that if civilians are either brought into the field or join a Shield team (which in your case is both), they need to have basic target and combat training."

"That just means I'm getting my ass kicked for the unforeseeable future."

"Exactly." he said with a grin.

"Could you not say that with a grin?"

He just smiled at me and led me down a series of corridors before we reached the biggest gym I've ever seen. Granted I've never been inside a gym that wasn't attached to a school, but that's besides the point. Inside were various Shield agents doing their thing and they all ignored Coulson and I as we headed for a training mat in the far back corner of the gym. I wondered how Coulson was going to train me in combat while wearing a suit until I saw someone leaning against the back wall.

Well, now that's a surprise.

 **End of Chapter Three...Just Kidding!**

"Agent Barton, this is Rikki Corvine. She's the civilian you'll be training for the next few weeks." Did I just hear him say a few weeks? Normally, I'd be pissed if I found out that I'd be having combat training (which I know is going to hurt like a you know what) for a few weeks, but come on. I'm getting trained by Barton. The Clint Barton. There's no complaining about that.

Barton was wearing a Shield regulated (why am I not surprised) black shirt with a gray Shield eagle on it, black gym pants (most likely Shield regulated), and tennis shoes. He looked me up and down (not in a pervy way which I appreciated) and then looked at Coulson.

"You sure she's gonna be able to handle it? She looks like she's fifteen." Really?

"It's only for a few weeks. If she passes the field test then she'll be fine. You won't have to train her for long." I can't tell if Coulson has faith in me or thinks I'll scrape by just enough that I'll be able to join his team.

"Whatever you say." Oh, I can feel the overwhelming confidence Barton has in my ability to not be a complete waste of his time.

"Just think, once you finish training her, you can be back on active duty." That sure lit a fire under him because he quickly nodded to Coulson and walked over to me to begin my first day of combat training.

 **~Twenty Minutes Later~**

"Ooph." I can't tell you how many times I've gotten the wind knocked out of me.

After Coulson had left Barton and I to train, Barton thought it would be a good idea to get me used to being slammed into the ground (via hip toss). I thought this was a bad idea before he threw me to the ground and, twenty minutes later, I not only think this is a bad idea, but my back is killing me.

"Come on Corvine. Get up."

"Slave driver." I mumble, but apparently he heard me.

"This is only going to get more difficult. If you can't handle a simple hip toss, then how do you expect to pass a field test."

"I don't even know what an actual field test is. But really, that's besides the point. If this is supposed to be combat training, then shouldn't I be learning some actual combat instead of you just throwing me to the ground?" My smart mouth is going to get me into trouble. I can feel it.

"You want to start the combat training? Okay."

I learned within the next hour and forty minutes that when Barton says "Okay" in that tone that basically screams 'It's your funeral', I'm going to be in a lot of pain very soon.

 **~The Next Day~**

I want to say that training with Barton yesterday wasn't so bad. I got a couple of bruises, but nothing that I can't handle. I was able to learn how to block a punch and how to take down an opponent. I really wish I could say that. I really do.

In my painful reality, I got my ass kicked. Barton went from tossing me around to actually fighting me (with punches and everything). I've got bruises on top of bruises, it hurts to breathe deeply, and I woke up this morning feeling like I just got out of a ten car pileup. I had barely opened my eyes when I heard knocking on my door.

"Corvine. Time for target practice. You got 5 minutes."

After muttering a couple of curses, I quickly got ready and out the door in what I thought would be record time.

"You're late." Jackass.

"Don't start with me Barton. I feel like crap and I most likely look like it too."

"Well, who pissed in your cheerios this morning?" he said with a laugh.

I ignored him as we walked to the target training room that I learned was actually two floors below my room and the gym. We walked through the doors and Barton led me through two more sets of doors before we reached a room that looked a lot like those shooting practice rooms that you see police using on those cop shows.

On our left was the shooting range where there were paper human target held up by a giant clip. Each target was in its own lane where people could line up and try and shoot them. On our right was a wall filled with guns and ammo. I'm all for people being able to use guns when they need to, but personally, I don't feel very safe around them. I think Barton could sense my unease because he smiled and put his hand on my back while leading me over to the gun wall.

"So, I'm guessing you've never used a gun before, right?" I nodded my head and he didn't look surprised.

"Alright, then I'll start you off with the standard issue." He picked up a handheld gun a couple inches larger than my hand and handed it to me.

"Hold this." I held it like it was a live grenade and he once again laughed at me.

"There's no ammo in it Corvine and it's not going to blow up. Stop looking at it like its a grenade." Can Barton read minds? No, that's Vision. Never mind. Barton grabbed a clip that was already loaded with ammo and lead me over to the lane in the middle. He took the gun out of my hand and laid it down on the small desk-like area right in front of where I'd be shooting. There were a couple pairs of safety goggles and ear plugs hanging on the wall and Barton grabbed both me and him a pair. As I put the last ear plug in, Barton started talking.

"Okay. So, before I let you shoot, I'm going to show you how to turn the safety on and off, how to unload and reload it, and how to aim." Barton explained everything, but I doubt I'll remember it all tomorrow. As I finally reloaded the gun (after pinching my finger and Barton laughing at me), Barton moved behind me in order to show me how to aim.

"Alright, now square your shoulders. Try and keep the gun steady. Keep both eyes open and, when you're ready, shoot." That's easier said than done. I tried to line up the target as best as I could and when I thought I might actually hit the target, I fired.

"Not bad. You actually hit the target." Was that Barton actually sounding impressed?

"But, we need to work on you not closing your eyes before you fire." Dang it. I forgot that I did that.  
Barton and I spent the next couple of hours with me trying out different guns (all handheld) before he decided it was time for more combat training. Oh joy.

 **~Three Weeks Later~**

I've spent the last three weeks training with Barton and I have to say, it wasn't all bad. After the first week, Barton started to develop more of a personality (which I greatly appreciated) and I actually started to enjoy our little sparring sessions. Not the fighting part, but the bantering part. I get my ass thrown on the floor, he laughs, I insult him, he insults me, I attack him, I get thrown on my ass again and the cycle repeats itself for a couple of hours every day. I'm still not completely comfortable with shooting a gun, but I can at least hit the target when I'm shooting so I guess that's good enough.

I know Coulson said that it would only be a few weeks of Barton training me before my field test, but I am kind of starting to wonder what Coulson considers "a few weeks" to be. I thought about asking Barton about it, but the last time I asked him something, he started in on the "combat" part of combat training. I like to think that I only make a mistake once. It was while Barton and I were in the cafeteria that I got the answer to my question without even asking it.

"So, I just got a new assignment from Coulson." I'm instantly paying attention to him and not what Shield considers cafeteria food.

"Can I know what it is or is it 'Classified'." I said in my best secret agent voice accompanied by air quotes. Barton smirked.

"No, it's not 'Classified'. Shield needs to acquire a serum that's been created in the Philippines. Apparently, their creating some kind of super soldier serum over there."

"Yeah, cause that always ends well." Awesome, another smirk.

"Right? Anyway, they need me to get inside the facility, steal a sample of the serum, destroy the rest and all of the notes on it, and get out."

"Sounds easy enough for you. Why am I allowed to know this? Usually, its 'Classified' to non-Shield agents. Although, since I've been getting training from a Shield agent, doesn't that mean I'm technically a part of Shield? Shouldn't I have a badge or something." Barton just gave me a look.

"No." I just rolled my eyes.

"The reason why you get to know this is because you are coming with me." Say what?

"Say what?"

"It's your field test. If you can get in and out with me without being killed, you'll pass."

"Sounds kind of sketchy, but I don't really have a choice now do I?" I asked while stabbing the mystery meat in front of me.

"No, not really." Thanks Barton. I sighed and looked at him.

"So, when do we leave?"

 **End of Chapter Three (For Real This Time).**

 **A.N.: So, as promised, I gave you guys an extra long chapter since you all waited so freaking long for me to post another chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Just to let you guys know, if you recognized the Philippines, it has nothing to do with Agents of Shield or Marvel in general. I'm actually going to be taking a few scenes from the movie Bourne Legacy. If you haven't seen it, you should. It has Jeremy Renner in it and it's really good. But, just the fact that Jeremy Renner is in it should make you go and watch it. XD I will only be using those few scenes from the movie ONLY in the next chapter. This will not be a crossover or anything. I just think it'll be the perfect field test for Rikki.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will have the mission to the Philippines and I can't tell you anything else that's going to happen in the next chapter. You'll just have to wait. I'm not sure how long you'll have to wait because there is a Walking Dead marathon on right now and I love season 5 and 6, so it may be a couple of days. I'm not sure.**

 **Please review because I love to read them and they motivate me to write more!**

 **~Rikki18**


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